Japan is known for their advanced technology. One of their more famous and more recent creations are the life-sized and the almost human-like dolls.
In Western countries, you’ve probably heard about these famous living dolls like Valeryia Lukyanova, Kina Shen, and Kotakoti. Moreover, the human-like dolls are creating their names in the fashion industry, not only in the West but also here in the country where the Harajuku style had been born. Recently, photos of a Japanese human doll had been uploaded on the internet and had been making the people crazy with her cuteness and unique fashion styles.
She is Lulu Hashimoto.
The Birth of Lulu
Lulu Hashimoto is created by Hitomi Komaki, a 23-year-old fashion designer in Japan. Her love for dolls led to bringing Lulu into life. For her, dolls are the epitome of cuteness.
In Japan, dressing up as a mascot called “kigurumi” is a popular art form. Komaki takes kigurumi to a whole new level by creating a full-body doll suit, which includes a wig, mask, and stockings.
For nine years, Komaki has been creating ball-jointed dolls with a spherical figures for a head, as a hobby. Because of this, she had the idea of creating a human-sized and real-life-looking doll. She then saw the realistic doll heads made by Nukopan, a creative team in Japan. Thereafter, She contacted them immediately and asked them about working together, which they agreed.
Lulu’s body suit is created by the fashion designer Koh Ueno. The suit has an airbrushed doll-like joints as the material, but Ueno makes sure it will not restrict the movement of the person inside the bodysuit.
The Real Lulu
Anyone can actually become a Lulu Hashimoto, simply by putting on her realistic bodysuit. The identity of the the person inside Lulu’s body suit is a secret, will always be.
During her photoshoot with Reuters, Lulu had made people’s heads turn.
Lulu’s fashion style can be compared to the Harajuku fashion in Japan. “Many people call my project a fetish , though for me it’s not fetish but fashion. It’s like wearing nice clothes or putting false eyelashes to become cuter,” says Komaki.
Lulu was actually one of the 134 semi-finalists for the annual Miss iD beauty pageant. Komaki didn’t waste the opportunity because this year’s pageant includes nonhuman characters, generated by artificial intelligence and three-dimensional computer graphics. The winner of the the competition will be announced in November.
The Rise of Lulu
Since her debut as the world’s first living doll fashion model last July, Lulu has continued to gain popularity. She already has tens of thousands of followers on her social media accounts, particularly on Facebook and Instagram.
She has also done some interviews uploaded on YouTube. Komaki hopes that Lulu can have a chance to model some products and appear on music videos to give brands that “cuter” impression.
Today, Lulu is now focusing on her career as a fashion model and sometimes making an appearance on the streets of Tokyo, where human dolls are soon to dominate.
Sources:
Banner Photo by Danny Choo. Flickr Licensed under Creative Commons.
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